For more than 10 years, Property Casualty 360-NationalUnderwriter and American Agent & Broker havenamed top agencies to its Commercial Agency Awards for Excellenceprogram.

This year, the CAAFE awards include the category of Best AgencyWebsites. An independent panel of judges reviewed each submissionand graded websites on factors including appearance, mobility,brand awareness and multimedia. Count down our finalists eachweek (read the profiles of finalists Kaplansky Insurance and Bryan Insurance Agency) until the winner isrevealed June 3. Click here to find out the winner!

Alliance Insurance Group
Golden, Colo.

“If you asked us 9 months ago, I could tell you we got almost notraffic from the Web,” said Martin Gibeau, vice president ofbusiness development for Alliance Insurance Group.

What a difference 9 months makes. In that time, the Golden,Colo.-based agency, with website builder Insurance TechnologiesCorp., developed its currentplatform, a $70,000 investment that attracts its customers andprospects in commercial, personal and health lines.

“And now it's new business opportunities,” Gibeau said. “Ourbrand awareness is at an all-time high.” The website receives 2100 to 2400 uniquevisitors each month and averages 2.1 leads a day.

And the new website is paying off—literally. The agency writesjust under half of those leads and one in February turned into$35,000 worth of business, paying for half of the cost of thewebsite development.

Also possibly paying the cost of development? The agency'scarriers. “We are in talks with a few of our carriers who areinterested in a co-op marketing agreement,” Gibeau said. “We wantto push new and more business to our favorite carriers and givethem first shot to our business that is coming through digitalmeans.”

Judges in the Best Agency Websites program liked that Alliancedisplayed its featured carriers. Additional points were awarded forthe myriad channels in which Alliance interacted with its visitors,all displayed in a clean and uncluttered look.

Commerce Pages

Alliance identifies the website's overall goal as organicgrowth, with additional emphasis on organic lead generation andclient and prospect services.

The agency writes $23 in premium annually, with 90 percent ofits business in commercial lines. Its core specialties includecrop, oil/gas, workers' comp and restaurant markets, and Alliancesaw a need to develop individual commerce sites that highlightAlliance's specialty lines.

Each commerce page, which include including Workers'Comp, Commercial RealEstate, Contractors,Restaurants/Bar& Tavern and CommercialTrucking, contains an auto-playing video targeted to thatparticular line. “As visitors listen to the video, their eyes go tothe left and see the words we are trying to highlight,” Gibeausaid. For example, the Oil &Gas commerce site lists “lease operators”, “roustaboutservices”, “contract pumpers”, “pollution coverage” and“blowout/cratering”, among other key terms.

No scrolling is required on commerce pages, but if a visitordoes scroll, the page further details coverage specifics.

“We built each [commerce] page with precision and language forthat buyer,” Gibeau said. “We don't generalize anything.”

Constant Contact

Judges appreciated that the website frequently asked visitors tointeract. “I especially like the product: action represented by thelarge phone number to call and a form where visitors can submittheir questions and requests for additional information,” one ofthe judges, a 35-year industry veteran and insurancetechnology consultant, said.

The agency makes 34 quote forms available online, which areavailable through the main navigation and also at the bottom ofeach webpage.

Auto-playing videos on the home page, the three main navigationpages (business, home/auto/life and health & benefits) and thecommerce sites ask visitors to call or fill out quote forms andguides prospects through a step-by-step process on how to obtaincoverage. Each video is about a minute and a half long and audiblytells the visitors why they need, for example, workers'compensation insurance:

“You have put your heart and soulinto growing your business. Now you should consider placing as muchimportance on keeping your assets protected from unforeseen loss.Let's face it, understanding and negotiating workers comp insurancecan be a challenge. Don't allow one mistake or lawsuit to wipe outall that you have built. Proper protection is critical. “

Videos also give visitors a step by step process for obtaininginsurance and repeatedly ask visitors to call or fill out quoteforms. From the workers' compensation video:

Step 1: Call us today at the numberabove, or fill out the free quote form below.

Step 2: This is where our experiencewill save you time and money. After a brief risk analysis ourworkers comp specialists will contact you with the right policy tofit your unique requirements.

Step 3: You start saving and sleepinga little better knowing that alliance is continually in search fornew ways to bring more value to your bottom line.

Alliance is local and easy to workwith. If it's a claim or a certificate that requires the extramile, service is our strength. Fill out the free quote form belowand we will get back to you promptly. Or you can call us and we canimmediately answer your questions. Remember at alliance, we got youcovered.

Mobility

The website is optimized for the mobile user. “We buildeverything on the visitor's terms,” Gibeau said. “If you have atablet or are on a smartphone.”

Two weeks ago, Alliance closed its first transaction via asmartphone from start to finish. A contractor was in talks to paintmunicipal buildings. However, he needed workers' compensationinsurance ASAP in order to secure his contract. Through his phone,he found Alliance and requested a quote. Coverage was written forthe contractor that day and he won the contract.

The mobile site includes nine quick links: “Call us”, “Emailus”, “Visit us”, Report a claim”, “Get a quote”, “Manage mypolicy”, “About us”, “Products & services” and “Contactus”.

Partners Program

Gibeau is most excited about the “partners program” linkthat is featured on the bottom center of the homepage. “We want ourcustomers to do business with our other customers,” he said. “Thisis an additional source of opportunity for our clients.”

The page features partners in nine categories (to date) and afeatured partner of the month.

The Partners Program mixes sales with digital technology. Gibeaucoaches his sales team to offer the Partners Program as a value addto prospects. “This is where we bring a new level of firstimpressions to the table,” he said.